In February 2016, it was reported that The Weinstein Company would distribute the film.[18] It was originally scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada on November 24, 2017.[19] In August 2017, the release was pushed back to March 30, 2018.[20] In January 2018, it was pulled from the schedule.[21] In March 2018, it was announced The Weinstein Company would no longer distribute the film, and the producers were attempting to find another distributor to release the film.[22]

On Rotten Tomatoes. Mary Magdalene holds an approval rating of 41% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mary Magdalene has obvious reverence for its subject; unfortunately, it lacks enough momentum or depth of character to make her story interesting."[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28]